We are what we read

Very early on in her book Proust and the Squid, MaryAnn Wolf writes simply that-we are what we read.  That was the hook for me, but the book was a great hook.  Unfortunately, much of the science and references to neurons and brain activity kind of ruined it for me, the non-scientist.  But at least I can now say I have read it and I now understand the context for the title of the book though I am still not sure I understand it either. So here goes.
I was so eager to get into the meat of the book that I skipped over the title completely and on understanding it, there will be much understanding into this topic.  Marcel Proust for whom the book was named was a french novelist who saw reading "as an intellectual sanctuary" and the squid represents the scientific work done in the 1950's  "to understand how neurons fire and transmit to each other (Wolf p. 5-6).  I have never read Proust and know nothing about squids, but I did learn something of the history of when and how we learned to read and was amazed that it was only some 3,000 years ago.  I cannot pretend that I will retain much of this, it was over my head.  My favorite parts were the simple facts and the literary quotes sprinkled throughout.  And the title of this blog "we are what we read" seems most apropos. In reading this article from the Atlantic Monthly it is believed that we read and become more like the characters in the novels we choose.  We read for to escape.  And if we are what we read, what are you reading?  I am reading The House I loved by Tatiana de Rosnay and Yellow Cake by Cathleen Cummins.  What does that say?

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/05/what-we-read-matters-so-what-are-we-reading/52304/

I have found this journey into the world of reading very interesting and totally enjoyed the comments of  classmates. I'd like to end this blog with a quote from Proust
I believe that reading, in its original essence, [is] that fruitful miracle of communication in the midst of solitude.

What affects will cellular phones have on our brains in the next century?

I know nothing of the answer to the title of this blog, but I worry.  We have already seen the programming of people who respond to a ring tone, a buzz, or a vibration with such immediacy that it is sure to change the way our brains function.  My father always told me that the sign of maturity is the ability to delay gratification and if this is true, the immediacy with which this generation of youth solve problems, retrieve information, and respond to each other using the cell phone constantly in hand, may change the way the brain acts over the next centuries.  If reading in only 3,000 years old, the cell phone may be responsible for making changes in the brain in the very near future.

In Proust and the Squid, near the end of the book Wolf begins on of the chapters with "every society worries over the future of its youth and the challenges they will face". (212) She quotes Ray Kurzweil whose name i had heard, but I googled him to understand his importance an American author, inventor, futurist, and a director of engineering at Google.  He has suggested that "100 trillion neural connections in our brains extend exponentially through the technological, non biological intelligence we have invented" (qtd in Wolf p. 213).

I am by no means a scientist and I really have no idea what that means, but cell phones may alter brain activity in a very real way.  The title of her chapter is appropriately called "Conclusions: From the Reading Brain to "What comes Next".  I truly wonder this.  What comes next.  Studies have show that "cell phone use was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism (a marker of brain activity)"